Comment by Harborough churches: Offering hospitality is a gift to both giver and receiver

Viewpoint by Revd. Alison Iliffe

Recently one of the Sunday Bible readings was from a letter to early Hebrew Christians. The verses I love say this: “Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” (Hebrews 13:1-2 taken from the New Living Translation of the Bible).

The hot summer we have had this year has meant that a lot of time has been spent outdoors, enjoying the hospitality of our lovely local parks or in our gardens, making the most of the sunshine with friends and family.

The life of a Vicar is varied and often provides lots of opportunities for both offering hospitality to others and for being a guest as I am welcomed by others offering me hospitality. Visiting people in their homes, or meeting in town at one of our amazing cafes or in one of our church buildings, is always a privilege, as is hearing people’s stories and talking about the challenges and joys of daily living.

At St Hugh’s recently we offered hospitality to several families at our Summer Messy Church – obviously all the children are angels and we just loved coming together to play, be creative, hear stories and sing, as well as eating together. Many of our churches across Market Harborough and the surrounding villages offer hospitality in different ways which you might like to look out for.

It may be you and your family are among the angels the foodbank and the hygiene bank are offering hospitality to at this time. This sort of hospitality is sometimes difficult to ask for but it may be that it is what is needed for you just now, accepting the hospitality of others in this season of your life.

Offering hospitality when there is no hope of return is a gift both to those who are able to give and to those receiving. It helps us all to flourish and allows us to live in a way which values the gifts and strengths we have, and gives an understanding of our limitations and our needs in our ever changing world.

A card fell out of my Bible last week on which I had written “Peace begins with a smile”, which is a saying of Mother Teresa. We might not all be able at this time to offer hospitality to others, but if we can offer a smile then we can make a difference, and who knows, you may have just smiled at an angel without knowing it.

Revd. Alison Iliffe, Team Vicar in the Harborough Anglican Team with responsibility for the Parish of the Transfiguration: St Hugh, Northampton Road and St Nicholas, Little Bowden.